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GRAEME
I’ve come into Edinburgh on business. The thirty-five-minute flight on my private jet was fast and my business was concluded fairly quickly. Three months ago, I inherited the dukedom that has been my family for generations. I was not prepared to be the tenth Duke of Sutherland. My father was young, barely fifty, when the aggressive cancer took him. He didn’t even know he had it, or if he did, he didn’t tell me. My parents divorced when I was seven, and mum remarried within the year. Dad rarely left Aebarrow Keep, our home in Sutherland. Whereas I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I went to prep school and Eton before Cambridge. If I had known there wouldn’t be enough time with my father, I would have done things differently. But I can’t change the past, and all I can do is move forward. So, I’ve made my way to Edinburgh to sign the last of the paperwork that officially makes me the duke. Suddenly I’m responsible for tenants, farmland, and much more than I was ready for at just twenty-four.
My driver, Duncan, is waiting outside of my new solicitor’s office. I get into the car and pull my laptop out of my briefcase. As we head back toward the airport, I try to get some work done because in addition to being the duke, I own a lucrative shipping business, MacTavish Freight. Going East on Logan Square, I look up from my computer as Duncan pulls to a stop at red light, and out the window of the rented sedan. I can’t help noticing the beautiful lass with wild blonde hair running down the street. Nothing would be weird about this except she’s not dressed for exercise. She’s wearing a short black dress and bright blue high heels. She appears to be late for something, but I can’t help staring after her.
“Stop the car, Duncan,” I say just as he takes off again. He pulls over to the curb and climb out. “Wait here,” I say before closing the door.
I watch as my mystery lass runs into a dirty alleyway and knocks on the door of a non-descript building. My curiosity gets the better of me and I continue to follow her. The door opens and she goes inside. I wait a few seconds before knocking on the door.
“Sir? You are at the wrong entrance. Patrons should go around the front for entry.”
“Ah. Thank you,” I say, backing away from the door. I walk through the alley way, over garbage and other discarded items, around to the front of the building and walk in that door. It’s dark inside, but not unpleasant. It smells like leather and whiskey and immediately I wonder where I am.
“Welcome to Hetaira Auction House. Is this your first time with us, Sir?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Ah, you are in for a rare treat, Mr…?” The scantily clad hostess trails off waiting for me to answer.
“MacTavish.”
“Ah. Your Grace, forgive me, I should have recognized you.”
“No worries, really.”
“Well, right this way. I have a private viewing room available for you.”
“Excellent,” I say following her.
“Can I get you anything? A drink, cigar?”
“No, thank you,” I say, sitting down in a large leather wingback chair.
“Very good. The auction starts in ten minutes. Feel free to peruse the catalog on the tablet in front of you. Happy procurement,” she says before leaving and closing the door behind her.
I tap the screen on the tablet, and it comes to life. I swipe right and realize what’s going on immediately. This is an auction to buy women aged eighteen to sixty. I’m just about to get up to leave, unable to be a part of this… criminal activity but instead I keep swiping until I find her, the girl from the street.
Item number, 1269.
The beautiful, frazzled girl is selling herself. Her biography tells me nothing I want to know about her, like why she is doing this. The “hard no” section of her bio is blank and that means she’s up for anything, but I’d be willing to bet a million dollars, she has no idea what a hard no entails. She looks too pure and innocent to be selling herself. I tell myself this is a last resort for her, but the truth is I don’t know anything about her, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting her. I flip through her pictures on the tablet. In one, she’s wrapped in a sheet. In another, she’s wearing a school uniform. Newcastle Prep. I don’t think the picture is meant to be provocative, but it damn sure is to me. The rest of the pictures are more of the same. It’s her eyes. They are icy blue and stare right into my soul. I have to have her.
Deep in my bones and my heart, I know I am the one to save her.
Save her from other men.
Save her from herself.
Save her from what will become of her if she does this.
But who will save her from me? I’ve never wanted to own someone as much as I want to own her, but at the same time, I want to love her, and no one will ever love another as much I’ll love her.
The curtain blocking my view from the stage opens and the auction gets underway. One by one women parade out on the state, but none of those women are meant to be mine.
I wait patiently, like a predator until I finally hear it.
“Item number 1269 is up for bid. 1269 is still in school and hopes to be a paediatrician one day. My notes tell me she’s a virgin too. Let’s start the bidding at twenty-five thousand, shall we?”
She makes my fucking cock hard as a rock, which it hasn’t been for quite some time. I bid, as do several others.
